By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
modendahl@etruth.com
Rumors about the missteps and trials of recreational vehicle manufacturers and suppliers have always floated through the air in Elkhart County but with the continuing downturn in the market, the gossip and innuendo have started to strike some nerves.
Thursday morning, Michael Terlep Jr., president of Coachmen RV Co., politely dismissed the rumor that his company had been sold as false and then advised the industry would be better off if everyone just concentrated on building RVs.
"I think the industry has always had it's share of rumors and gossip," Terlep said. "I don't ever recall this degree of ridiculous rumors that are so disruptive to the community. They hurt the industry because people aren't making decisions based on factual data."
Plant closings, layoffs, deep discounting of units on dealers' lots as well as innovations and nifty new designs litter the conversations around the water cooler or at the lunch counter.
Coachmen Industries has been the subject of many rumors in part because as a publicly-traded company its financial struggles are well-known and it has been spotlighted in media stories about the troubles facing the entire RV industry.
Indeed the Middlebury manufacturer has not only heard rumors about itself but also about who is peddling the hearsay and how. Terlep characterized the gossip about Coachmen as exploitation by competitors who are trying to spread fear and doubt.
In an already competitive industry clustered in Northern Indiana, the ever churning rumor mill may be intensifying because the sales are slumping and the market is shrinking, said Scott Tuttle, founder of Livin Lite Recreational Vehicles LLC. The I-heard-this and Did-you-hear-that statements shoot across the industry and while 90 percent of the rumors are not true, sometimes RV companies do have to respond.
Often dealers will call the manufacturers to investigate if what they have been hearing is correct. With expensive towables and motorhomes parked on their lots, RV dealers cannot afford to dismiss rumors.
Brent Blessinger, sales manager at Basden's American RV Center in Evansville, explained that when an RV manufacturer goes out of business, the dealer can get stuck with units that no bank will finance and that have no warranty or sources for parts. If the word on the street turns out to be more than idle chatter, the dealer must move quickly to get that particular make of RV off the lot even if that means selling the units below cost.
So Blessinger does not hesitate to call the manufacturing sales representatives when he hears something disturbing.
"Unfortunately it's not all a rumor," he said. "A lot of times it's true."
When hearsay crosses the desk of Tim Klenk, owner of Master Tech RV Service, he will call the manufacturer to see if his company can help. Since RV makers are best at building the product, he said, his company will offer to takeover the service and warranty work.
Any direct question about Forest River that any dealer or employee has will be answered honestly, said founder and chief executive officer Pete Liegl who noted he has been the subject of rumors himself. He will even have independent sources, like a bank, provide proof to dealers that his company is financially sound.
To Liegl, the latest swirl of industry buzz are the result of slowing production in the plants.
"When things are tough, it's hard to do what you're supposed to do," Liegl said. "So it's easy to sit around and speculate. I think that's why we have so many rumors."
Terlep did not shrug off the rumor situation, saying gossip creates fear and uncertainty among the employees and could impact their ability to work. Instead he implored the RV makers to manage their own businesses.
"I think enough is enough," he said. "Just get everybody to focus on doing the right thing for the industry."